The continued isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has been condemned as “torture according to international standards” by his lawyer, Rengin Ergül*. In an interview with Tim Krüger of the German daily nd, Ergül highlighted the severe conditions under which Öcalan has been held on the Turkish prison island of Imrali since 1999, noting that he has had no contact with his family or legal team for over three years.
“Öcalan’s right to visits has been restricted by so-called disciplinary sanctions,” Ergül stated, criticising the Turkish state’s justification for these measures. She emphasised that these restrictions, which have persisted for an extended period, amount to torture under both international standards and Turkish law.
Öcalan, a key figure in the Kurdish political movement, was initially sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to an “aggravated life sentence” – a punishment that mandates solitary confinement for the rest of his life. Ergül argued that Öcalan’s continued isolation is not only a violation of his legal rights but also a deliberate strategy by the Turkish government to avoid addressing the Kurdish issue.
“The incommunicado detention of Öcalan means a blockade of the solution to the Kurdish question,” she said, noting that the Kurdish population views Öcalan as their political representative. Ergül further claimed that the exceptional conditions imposed on Öcalan set a dangerous precedent, with thousands of political prisoners across Turkey now subjected to similar treatment.
The issue has drawn international attention, with 69 Nobel laureates recently signing an open letter condemning Öcalan’s solitary confinement and urging the European Union and the United Nations to take action. Ergül praised this move, stating, “The recent appeal was very important and valuable… If the European states claim a special position on human rights, they must also take the necessary steps on the issue of Abdullah Öcalan and build up pressure on Turkey.”
Ergül also expressed disappointment in international bodies such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe, accusing them of failing to hold Turkey accountable for its human rights abuses. “If they only talk about the situation and do nothing in the end, then they are also partly to blame for the torture in prisons and for the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan,” she added.
The Turkish government has yet to respond to these allegations, but it has historically justified Öcalan’s isolation on security grounds, citing “general security reasons” as the basis for the restrictions on his communication.
As calls for Öcalan’s release and the end of his isolation grow louder, Ergül and other advocates continue to push for greater international involvement in addressing what they see as a critical human rights issue.
*Rengin Ergül is a lawyer and a member both of the Turkey-based Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), and of the MAF-DAD Association for Democracy and International Law, which brings together Kurdish, Turkish and German lawyers and human rights activists and campaigns for Öcalan’s interests.
